Although it's commonplace to say, don't depend on names and words, etc., it's not a commonplace problem. Maybe the ultimate dependence on intoxicants. Extremely difficult to shake it. Partly because we can come so close. Because we ourselves are formed But if your perception of reality is deep enough, you realize form does not come close at all.

[01:15]

But still, we are caught by them because from compassion, from some desire to help. And it seems the most tangible thing you can do. And it seems the most readily accepted as help. at least the illusion of health. So it's very difficult not to want to put the teaching into words, not to want to express something. emphasizes this point, transmission outside the scriptures, and it actually means it. It's quite literal, and it means transmission outside ceremonies too.

[02:48]

This transmission is always going on. ordinary reality, everyday mind is Zen, when you are this transmission which is always going on. So to not be caught by words, not be caught by trying to get something done, trying to accomplish something, trying to do something we can grasp. Emptiness, as I said, means no attainment, no good or bad. Emptiness includes everything.

[04:49]

If you have preferences, that's not emptiness. Emptiness is something physically you realize. It's not in the realm of information or philosophy. Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha are your actual experience. And the Buddha is Dharma, and Dharma is Sangha. Fumon's sheer cliff, and Bokushu's gate slammed on Fumon's leg, and Suzuki Roshi's office, which only opens on the alley. and Vimalakirti, silence. All non-dependence on words and letters. So how to express ourself on each occasion? You may remember in an old wind bell, Suzuki Roshi wrote,

[06:23]

how to express yourself on each occasion. He used to give me, in those days, he'd try to write out the lectures, and it was English. He could speak English, but to write English was quite unusual. And he would give it to me, and I would try to do something with it. And usually I would But to me it was wonderful, because I would have to ponder over this Japanese, Chinese, English and syntactical arrangements that were beyond anybody's comprehension, you know, a sort of mixture of mistake and Zen. And you couldn't tell where one ended and the other began, you know. Usually it was Zen. But how to put it into English, which anybody would not turn away from, was difficult. One day he gave me this lecture and at the end of it, he often wrote it out, he had this written out and it got kind of bolder and bolder by the end and then he had this big exclamation point and dots and everything.

[07:46]

I said, what do you want me to do with this part? He said, just print it just as it is. And so I worked on the first part, and that part we just put at the end and photographed and put in the window. There's an interesting story. It occurs in Indian literature and Buddhist literature, and it occurs And the story you may know about Lee Malakirti being sick and everybody wanting to go see him or not wanting to go see him. And anyway, in one story, there's a discussion going on between several people and Vimalakirti is asking each one, what is non-dual reality? Or in the Zen version of the story, how do you enter the Dharma gate? And Vimalakirti and

[09:17]

various answers are given, and Manjushree's answer is, you know, no dependence on words and letters, and there's no way to express reality, and etc. And he says, okay, we've all answered your question, Vimalakirti, what do you say? And the Indian description of this is, how Vimalakirti didn't say anything, how he was silent, etc. But in the Zen story, in the Hikikam Rukya, they just leave Vimalakirti out. You have to figure out for yourself that he was silent, because he's barely mentioned in the story. They talk about what Manjushri said, and then they say, and what about Vimalakirti? That's the end of the story. You could have erased that line. Where to stop the erasing is the problem, you know. But it's interesting, how do you enter the gate of the dharma, of form?

[10:45]

Vimalakirti represents engagement. Manjushri has to make some statement, but Vimalakirti just is living his life as a layman. How to engage ourselves so that there's no question. Our life, our body, speech and mind are the teaching, are our activity. without discrimination. Umman was invited to the local king or the emperor's summer residence with a number of other famous Buddhist priests. during the rainy season, and the emperor had a sort of gathering of various high officials and nobles of the area. And they all, during this time, asked many questions of the abbots, and the abbots gave many lectures.

[12:15]

Umman didn't, no one asked Umman anything and Umman didn't say anything during this time, I suppose, just ordinary conversation. And afterwards somebody wrote, one of the court people wrote a poem, only from Zazen does wisdom come out. Silence, not noisy, lengthy talk. Debating reality is left far behind. When umman teaches, no one is left out. So I've been talking about setting forth the mind, setting forth the mind as zazen, as reality, as one with zazen, one with reality, one with one. And how to cultivate

[13:52]

our way, how to realize this setting forth the mind, one with one, as Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. And I talked about giving, and the Paramitas, and yesterday, patience, patience and vigor, energy, effort. And when you realize that there's no way out, that you can't kill anything, you can't actually avoid anything, then you find that effort. And third, next paramita is jhana or meditation. And third of the four aspects of the realization of bodhisattva, the third of

[15:28]

you know, setting forth the mind, cultivation of the way. The third is compassion. And today I'm talking about the identity of jhana and of meditation and compassion. Now, in Zen, we practice all practices by meditation. So our zazen includes all the paramitas, and it doesn't just mean the paramita of meditation or jhana. So we practice the paramita of giving by giving ourselves away in zazen, by giving up possession of ourself. and conduct by minute care and honesty with our practice, how we sit down, what our posture is, etc. And patience,

[16:59]

And waiting or wave follows wave, wave leads wave by sitting without any idea of attainment and finding our energy by this practice. So your preparing yourself by this kind of zazen, which is sometimes not jhana so much as dana or the other paramitas. And without this preparation, you cannot have direct samadhi. There'll be too many, technically we say, defilements, but too many obscure, mixed-up things. too many confusions in you. Those confusions can be literally burned out by your uprising energy, which comes out as you get less and less ambivalent.

[18:20]

when you are more and more one with what you're doing. So jnana as a paramita becomes our pure taste of our pure personal intimate taste of emptiness oneness or pure original mind. effort to teach this is pretty difficult. Dogen tells two stories which are interesting, again about mountains and rivers. Some monk asks his teacher, how can I unite myself with the mountains, streams,

[19:55]

and the great earth within myself. And his teacher says in response, how can I unite, how can you unite yourself with mountain streams and great earth within yourself? Is he asking the question again of you? Is he saying try more? Is he just repeating? What is he doing? Is he just not even repeating? Best way to say nothing at all. To say nothing is too obvious. Maybe just to repeat is the closest you can get to silence. Anyway, Dogen comments, Do not be hindered by whether, by what is united or not united. If it is, it is. If it isn't, it isn't already.

[21:26]

And the other story he tells, which is almost the same, the monk asks his teacher, how does the pure nature, how does our pure nature give rise to or create mountains, rivers, and the great earth? And this teacher hands How does the pure nature give rise to great mountains, rivers, and the great earth? You know, there's no room in here to figure out what's going on. If you try to figure it out, he means silence, he means you're not a Zen student. Excuse me, I don't mean to exclude you. You're not. You're a Zen student. Excuse me. But in the sense I want you to be a Zen student, more, you're not a Zen student.

[22:58]

You know, from our original face we are united with mountains, streams and rivers. If we're not already united, it doesn't mean some physical identity, it means By the source of forms, everything is equal. And this is the meaning of compassion too. When you realize everything is equal, not by comparing, actually, by differences we realize our unity, but not by comparing one thing to another.

[24:23]

But by knowing the creation of mountains, streams and rivers, we know the identity of everything. We know that each one is our mother or father or sister or brother. We know temporarily we've been produced like this. Sometimes you're produced like Sadie, or Fox, or Michael, whatever. If you were to be produced like Michael, you would be just like Michael. If you were to be produced like Fox, you would be just like Fox. I don't know if you understand what I mean. This kind of experience comes from, not as words, but comes from silence.

[25:48]

finally no longer dependent on form, on words and letters. So by jhāna or meditation, once we've practiced the paramitas, realized the practice of the paramitas, the purity of giving and conduct and patience, it's quite easy to enter meditation without obstruction. Samadhi is no longer something unfamiliar or limited to zazen, by just some brief taste only. By just some brief taste only. Samadhi is one with everything. So ordinary reality and zen.

[27:21]

cosmic super mundane reality. All are one. So jnana is our personal, we might say personal intimate experience of oneness, samadhi. Direct contact with everything without discrimination. When the I sees the I, when the I is the I, when you are you completely, through and through, with no observer anymore, is jnana, in as one of the paramitas. And compassion is

[28:29]

same thing but our expression or activity with others, because no longer do you discriminate one person from another in any sense of value or fortunes or friendliness or something It's a Dharma gate, not some idea, not some morality, but tangible activity, tangible realization. As someone reminded me yesterday, of something Suzuki Roshi used to do, he would go shopping. Of course, in Japan, he used to collect old vegetables, not just because he was Zen, but because he was also very poor, and his father and priests at that time were very poor, so he would collect old vegetables.

[30:04]

And I, as you know, took up this practice because of Suzuki Roshi. And Virginia said it had to stop its extreme forms, and I brought home some cabbage which had been run over by a big truck, a tire for its feet. But it was quite a wonderful cabbage, but this big two-wheel truck, you know, that way it had gone right over it and spread out. We ate it. We ate it. But he used to, if you went shopping with him in San Francisco, he did the same thing. He would go and fuss through the vegetables and find some old vegetables. And as he commented about it when asked, his

[31:07]

His joy was someone else, his happiness was someone else getting the good vegetables. This is tangible, compassionate activity. Quite naturally, you don't even, you didn't even have to make any effort. What Suzuki Roshi is saying, you know, I've mentioned many times, saying, these glasses are your glasses, but because of my tired old eyes, you let me use them. This is not just an idea, it's actually the way he lived and felt. This belongs to you, but you let me use it from your kindness. We don't need much when we feel this way, because if someone else has it, it's quite all right. The Tibetan Book of the Dead, you know, has those wonderful stories about after you're dead, looking back and seeing everybody distributing your possessions.

[32:31]

It makes very clear that your possessions belong to everybody. They'll last longer than you. And even now, they belong to everybody. So compassionate activity is the only way to realize samadhi. Samadhi and compassion are the same. Jhana and compassion are the same, just different names. So the third, setting forth the mind, cultivating the way, and compassion. And we There are various ways to cultivate compassion or friendliness. Setting forth an idea of benefit in your mind for others. Having the patience and strength to put yourself, to forget yourself in consideration of others. The willingness to undergo.

[34:04]

whatever human beings have undergone, without fear, you know. Right now, can you accept the willingness to undergo what human beings have undergone? Execution? Having your head chopped off? As Sugrivi said, it's happened to many people. Or some mental or physical extreme suffering or imprisonment. If you're not willing to face what people have undergone, you will be just tool of others, of society. Maybe we face imprisonment. certainly in many countries people face imprisonment, even for practicing Buddhism. So genuinely willing to undergo what people undergo, not as a problem but as compassion, just as recognizing our equality with everything.

[35:35]

It doesn't make quite logical sense, but it's undeniably one experience. and to cultivate an even mind toward others. Again, again means you have to understand meyan and dosai, stillness in movement and movement in stillness. Otherwise you can't have an even mind

[36:57]

you know, beyond good and bad, just to greet people as yourself. When you can just greet people as yourself, in jhana you can meet yourself without reservation, with joy. This joy of the first bhumi occurs at this point. When you no longer exclude somebody from your humanity or from your being, I won't concern myself with this one, or this one is less than important, or I should have this and they shouldn't have that. It's okay. I won't think about it. There are differences, you know, between us, but those differences in what we have and what we do arise from intentionless activity, like whether this mountain is beautiful or the clouds cross it, you know, and don't cross this one. It expresses something. Each mountain is different, but there's no intention, no self there.

[38:20]

This is rather difficult. Not unpleasant. If you want to, once you see it, it's a rather pleasant practice. Like some spring feeling or some warm feeling, Each person and thing you meet is something wonderful. You have the humility and innocence to learn from everybody. If all religions are okay, to have the silence, to not say so, just to listen. If all people are okay, to just be able to Listen to someone as your teacher. This is, you know, Suzuki Roshi in a coatline. You know, it's from this practice that Suzuki Roshi, standing in line to get his coat at a lecture, as I told you, should make the woman behind him, in front of him,

[40:03]

ten years ago, become a Buddhist. Samadhi, his Tsukyoshi Samadhi and jhana and compassion were one, are one today. Extend to us now. Extend to our life here at Tassajara and Green Gulch and San Francisco. there's some story. Officially, not a needle can pass, but unofficially, carriages can get through. But samadhi or practice or compassion is like that. If you try to do it by yourself,

[41:08]

It's so difficult to practice Zen. But if you don't care so much, you know, just give up yourself, you know. Carriages, Dharma wheels, everything goes barreling on through. It's true. You can't believe it. Some soft, even mind. Some strength or confidence or energy or patience to allow vulnerability. You can't be protective and compassionate. You can't be united or one

[42:25]

or know what samadhi is if you're protective. You can't do it like philosophy. You give up just to be vulnerable. What you say, I am, I am. And in your face muscles and body posture and arms and neck and shoulders, to be there, to have your head cut off or whatever, But it's not easy. Unconsciously, and out of long habit, our muscles tighten up and defensive postures take over. But when you completely understand and accept this way, the loosening up occurs throughout you, simultaneous. Simultaneous.

[43:34]

then the process of the undoing begins. It may take some years, but the process just goes on. And your gifts then are the gifts of undoing others too. Sometimes I've spoken about the movie, you know, just a movie. Everything you see is just a movie. You're looking out into yourself. Sometimes in the sutras it's described as heat. And to just try to practice with others, with some idea of benefit for them, is weak heat. To make yourself vulnerable is medium heat, like turning the dial and color up in the movie. And you'll know, you must know, without this participation, without this self-creation,

[45:01]

coming from your practice of the paramitas and meditation. Everything is just mere shadows, you know, intangible kind of flaky shadows. By this practice, you know, which is not morality, but the tangible manifestation of your capacity, by Sashin you find out your limitations. I think you all find out your limitations. Pain, restlessness, energy. But it's interesting, finding out your limitations you also have a sense of your capacity. Some Buddha-like capacity, not ordinary capacity to suffer or like or dislike or feel good about others. but some ocean-like feeling. We find out by knowing our limitations.

[46:11]

So this capacity, this clarity is, you can say, heat, movement, or not movement, I don't know how to express it, but to give some hint, the sutras say, heat, weak heat, medium strong heat would be to just completely, without hesitation, recognize everyone as your family. So this tangible Dharma gate, you know, not just morality but your... the realization of your capacity, of your full capacity, of your Buddha nature, comes out in your compassionate, engaged, non-discriminating activity.

[48:28]

I said too much, I think. These words, compassion and etc., are nothing special, you know. They are given such high status in our language and our society because people are so protective of their self-interest. They make it something noble. That's very noble to be compassionate. Very noble to be honest. It's not noble at all. It's quite ordinary. But if you don't want to do it, you call it noble. Or something like that. Some high difficult to attain. So if we talk about it, it's embarrassing. We're so noble down here in the bottom of this valley. And we're not at all. We're just trying to survive. And maybe, for most of us, we found it more difficult than average. Or we found ourselves, so often, a failure. And we really did want to just have some selfish success. But failing so often, we turned to Zen. And now we call it Noble. Or something.

[50:24]

But however we got here, if you start practicing zazen, it's bigger than whether you're selfish or not selfish. And you can find out how simple our life is, if you just do what you want to do. Have the courage to do what you want to do, not some protective, defensive, We start giving, giving away, and then we start giving with others, giving each other away. The realization of these Paramitas as one with all of us is compassion. So Dharmagate, tangible

[51:29]

Realization for ourself. Buddhism is for us, not something abstract. Dharma gate and Buddha and Sangha are one thing, three names for one thing. the realization of this and the acceptance of this is effortless practice. the realization of this and acceptance of this is effortless practice.

[52:59]

I wish we could talk about it without talking about it in such big words. It's just the simple facts of our existence, not so difficult. And difficult if you don't see its tangibility. But by your Zazen practice, you find out. It's just a simple, direct way to realize our capacity to acknowledge what we are. To acknowledge our pure existence with everyone, which is completely I don't know what to say. It's like that in comparison to whether the person is irritable or nice or not nice or difficult. Those things are... Actually, those things become our joy, those differences, like a dance. You know, in tantric Buddhism, emptiness is sometimes presented as a

[54:48]

fearsome figure or a dancing girl, that by our joy we produce to have some engagement. That separation and differences are an expression of our joy. But as long as you're protective, it's not so. This is the easy way, the easy way to live. The American dream. It's so much easier though, no anxieties, no problems much. Everything just seems okay. There's something to do, but if it doesn't work, it's okay. So let's join each other and everyone else in this joyous

[56:15]

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